This study compared the contextual classroom features of public school segregated classrooms and community-based integrated classrooms for 16 preschool children with disabilities, by examining the relations between classroom characteristics and child sociability. The two classroom contexts were found to be similar, with no differences in child…

This article explores the hypothesis that social skill deficits among children with learning disabilities are associated with high rates of undetected psychiatric diagnoses. The maladaptive social skills patterns of children with specific subtypes of learning disabilities appear to mimic the symptom patterns of children with attention deficit…

Describes the educational program at Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, New Jersey, as an example of the potential for synergy between content instruction and character development. Highlights how the school follows guidelines from the publication "Promoting Social and Emotional Learning, Guidelines for Educators." (EV)

Describes a study that identified the roles and competencies needed in distance education in higher education, rated the importance of those competencies, and compared results to those of a competency study conducted five years previously. Highlights include the roles of leader, change agent, and trainer; and interpersonal and communication…

Assessed the relationship between moral reasoning, moral affect, social problem solving skills, and social preferences in preschool children. Found that girls who scored highest for relational aggression also rated highest for moral maturity, suggesting an evolutionary theory in which effective resource controllers would be simultaneously…

Presents a response to Gifford-Smith and Brownell's "Childhood Peer Relationships: Social Acceptance, Friendships, and Peer Networks" (this issue). A focus on enhancing social competence within the context of classrooms designed to accommodate the needs of all students is presented as an integrated framework for applying research concerning…

This study builds on two studies that explored the effect of a social skills intervention on problem behaviors displayed by elementary school children during recess. Findings conclude that social skills intervention significantly decreased problem behaviors among school children at recess. Implications for behavioral management and healthy school…

Peer relationships play a critical role in the development of social skills and personal feelings essential for personal growth. The Teenage Inventory of Social Skills is a self-report designed exclusively to reflect behaviors functionally related to peer acceptance in adolescence. The aim of the present work was to determine the reliability and…

This article discusses social giftedness and its characteristics. Social giftedness is defined as the exceptional capacity to form mature, productive relationships and develop effective social interactions with peers and others. Special abilities include understanding, empathy, tolerance, and justice. A study using the Delphi technique to identify…

A study of 18 children with behavioral problems in inclusive elementary classrooms examined the effects of self-evaluation using videotapes of the children's interactions with their peers. Results showed increases in appropriate interactions for children with internalizing behavioral problems and decreases in inappropriate interactions for those…

Presents salient features of workshop discussion on encouraging social collaboration through play. Main topics covered are: theories and play; play and the curriculum, including evidence that play-based curricula are developmentally appropriate, desirable educational outcomes; and promoting the value of play, including Parten's typology, grouping,…

A study of 20 gifted children (ages 9-14) provides the basis of a model of social and emotional adjustment to stressors presented in this article. Intrapersonal, family, school, and peer influences, as well as functional and dysfunctional patterns of social and emotional adjustment, are explained within the framework of the model. (Author/CR)

The cause of school and marriage failure is that most people practice stimulus-response psychology. Choice theory helps nurture the warm, supportive human relationships that students need for school success and couples need for marital success. Satisfying four basic psychological needs (for belonging, power, freedom, and fun) helps humans create…

Examined whether generalization about prosocial style of well-accepted children applies to conflicts involving rights infraction. Interviewed fourth- and fifth-graders about strategies for handling situations in which a peer infringes on their rights. Found that well-accepted children were neither aggressive nor particularly prosocial in conflict…

At a private high school in Providence, Rhode Island, students benefit from Big Brother and Sister programs, peer mediation, and lessons in emotional intelligence across the curriculum. These activities are part of a comprehensive social and emotional education program called "Success for Life." For nearly 20 years, seniors have been…